


Can't Take My Eyes Off You

by MeanderingWits



Series: Amechu Drabbles [6]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Nyotalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 05:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11373849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeanderingWits/pseuds/MeanderingWits
Summary: Waking up to music and the one you love is the best way to begin the day.





	Can't Take My Eyes Off You

**Author's Note:**

> Filled for the ["Music"](https://amechuprompts.tumblr.com/post/161973578153/theme-music-june-18th-july-1st-2017-our-theme) theme for AmeChuPrompts!
> 
> Another one with China and fem!America, a little further in their relationship.

The first thought that hit Yao was that his bed felt way too small.  
  
The second thought was that his sheets didn't feel quite right.  
  
The third thought was that was not his alarm.  
  
By this point, as he opened his eyes to shafts of morning light striping an unfamiliar white ceiling through the blinds, his mind was beginning to catch up. The bed felt too small because it wasn't his bed. The sheets didn't feel right because they were pale blue cotton and not the dark red or slate gray silk he usually favored. His alarm clock always beeped him awake. It did not blare out drums and...flutes?  
  
_I hear the drums echoing tonight_  
 But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation... [1]  
  
That's right. Yao wasn't at his place.  
  
He was in a medium-sized apartment in New York City. Ellie's apartment. And the sheets he was currently tangled in now where Ellie's, where...well, they had an enjoyable night following an enjoyable Broadway show and dinner.  
  
_It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you_  
_There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do_  
_I bless the rains down in Africa_  
_Gonna take some time to do the things we never had..._  
  
Yao admitted that some of the show's concepts were a bit foreign to him. It was a musical about musicals, according to Ellie. Though Yao was more used to Chinese musicals than American ones, he understood the broad currents of it. Once they got home, Ellie insisted he learn one of the big numbers. [2]  
  
"I was a big theater kid," Ellie had admitted, this time somewhat sheepishly. "You would not believe how many times I saw _High School Musical_! It was such a _thing_. I nearly decided to scrap all the photography and history stuff I originally planned to do and just straight to Hollywood!"  
  
"You would've done well there," Yao remembered saying. "And you got there in the end!" Ellie laughed at him when he said he wanted to become a criminal like Chow Yun-Fat's character in _A Better Tomorrow_. It didn't take long before Ellie had rented the movie and they saw it then and there.  
  
Ellie judiciously ignored Yao's comments about her TV taking up a quarter of her apartment space.  
  
Stretching (and ignoring the slight ache in his back -- _he wasn't old_ ), he padded his way to Ellie's bathroom and went through his morning routine. Down the hall, by the kitchen area, he could hear a kettle being placed on a stove and a small clatter of pans. He wouldn't take long.  
  
A quick shower, brushing his teeth...did he need to shave? No, he didn't think so. That wasn't something he needed to do very often.  
  
He hummed "In the Sentimental Past"[3] when he entered the kitchen. Leaning against the doorjamb, he took an amusing sight in.  
  
The kitchen was a flurry of activity. Privately, Yao thought it might have looked that even more that way considering the small size of the room. Ellie was somehow juggling frying eggs in a pan and flipping pancakes in another, while a kettle began to sing and steam. On the side table, he could see plates set and a carton of orange juice.  
  
The radio was on, and Ellie was bouncing slightly on her toes. Some modern tune Yao heard in passing but didn't have the time or energy for. "Morning!" she greeted. Her smile was like the sun. It was welcoming and bright and her teeth were that blinding white Americans really liked to have.  
  
The fact that she was only wearing his turtleneck sweater from last night and short sleeping shorts also brightened up this morning.  
  
And then the song changed.  
  
It was...definitely an older song. The beat and instruments were different: more upbeat, cheerful, less overwhelming bass. He knew that it was a favorite by the way her eyes brightened. She completely whirled around pointed at him with her spatula and started singing.  
  
_You're just too good to be true_  
_I can't take my eyes off you_  
_You'd be like heaven to touch_  
_I wanna hold you so much_  
_At long last love has arrived_  
_And I thank God I'm alive_  
_You're just too good to be true_  
_Can't take my eyes off you..._ [4]  
  
Yao, to his credit, managed step forward, escaping Ellie's bopping, to turn the burners of the stove off. They didn't need a fire.  
  
It was also a good distraction. Having Ellie sing these lines to him was also...slightly embarrassing.  
  
_Pardon the way that I stare_  
_There's nothing else to compare_  
_The sight of you leaves me weak_  
_There are no words left to speak_  
_But if you feel like I feel_  
_Please let me know that is real_  
_You're just too good to be true_  
_I can't take my eyes off you..._  
  
Her smile just grew wider and wider as she came close and put her arms around his shoulders. He looped his arms around her waist and swayed with her, not matching her energy but feeling a warm knot of enjoyment in his chest.  
  
_I love you baby_  
_And if it's quite all right_  
_I need you baby_  
_To warm the lonely nights_  
_I love you baby_  
_Trust in me when I say..._  
  
He swung her around in the small room to the beat. He felt his mouth stretch into a small smile and he pressed his lips to hers.  
  
_Oh pretty baby_  
_Don't bring me down I pray_  
_Oh pretty baby_  
_Now that I've found you stay_  
_And let me love you, baby_  
_Let me love you..._ [5]  
  
Maybe he could suggest Ellie stay at his place on the Upper East Side? He wasn't in New York all that often and it would put the townhouse to some good use.  
  
But for now, the cramped area gave him a reason to pull her close and dance in the early morning hours, as the city began to awaken around them.

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: Okay! I finally got the note links working. 
> 
> 1 This song is, of course, ["Africa" by Toto](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQbiNvZqaY). (I never saw the music video and it was...weird, to say the least.) If there was ever a song of pure, unadulterated, timeless pop, this is it. It doesn't matter how many times you listen to it, it's always good. [return to text]
> 
> 2 Of all the Broadway songs that Yao and Ellie would probably enjoy, I think ["We're in the Money"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbPqr9O5opI&list=PLNXSK9RU25sgae0e2Q4sim1loQA55IxEs&index=12) from _42nd Street_ is the most fitting, for obvious reasons. [return to text]
> 
> 3 _[A Better Tomorrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Better_Tomorrow)_ is a 1986 film that put John Woo on the map. It was a big hit at the time, and had a big influence on Hong Kong, Chinese and Asian cinema. The performance of [Chow Yun-fat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chow_Yun-fat) in this movie is highly praised. ["In the Sentimental Past"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3uprwKdqIM), sung by Leslie Cheung, was the theme song. [return to text]
> 
> 4 ["Can't Take My Eyes Off of You"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcJm1pOswfM) is an oldie but a goodie, first sung Frankie Valli in 1967. There's a good chance that if you haven't heard Frankie's version, you've probably heard some cover version of it. Depending on how perky you think Ellie is in the morning, she's either singing Frankie's version or the [1982 disco-y cover by Boys Town Gang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWHZxXuJFzw). The 1982 cover is one of my favorites, though the music video is predictably...weird. You have to see it to believe it.[return to text]
> 
> 5 As a bonus, here's the link to the 1982 cover used in [Just Dance 4](https://youtu.be/NF5JCoi0Hrg?list=RDSKZErT2g5p4). I completely headcanon Ellie doing the snapping move (around 1:45), especially if she's dancing with Matthew or very drunk Europeans. But if Ellie's just having fun, what happens at 3:35 onward is as close as a visual representation to my headcanon as you can get.[return to text]


End file.
